Annotated Links

Propensity for One-Night Stands, Uncommitted Sex Could Be Genetic, Study Suggests[I]ndividuals with a certain variant of the [dopamine receptor D4 polymorphism] DRD4 gene [linked to sensation-seeking behavior] were more likely to have a history of uncommitted sex, including one-night stands and acts of infidelity, according to author Justin Garcia and summarized here in Science Daily, December 2, 2010.

Sensation Seeking and Rock Stars Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll? This table suggests that rock stars are likely to die at a younger age than the average person, and often by risky behaviors such as drug use.

Assignments, Exercises, and Activities

Art and Personality Does the art you enjoy match your personality? Research by Stian Reimers in conjunction with the BBC suggests that there is a relationship between the kind of art people prefer (e.g. Impressionism, Abstract, Japanese, Islamic, Northern Renaissance, and Cubism) and one's personality (emotional intelligence, the five-factor model, and sensation-seeking). Click here to read more about the findings, art, personality, or to participate in this online research.

Current Researchers and Research Teams

Dr. Ken Carter This web page of Clinical psychologist, speaker, and science writer Ken Carter contains many background resources on sensation seeking including audio and videos describing what sensation is and isnít, links to a sensation seeking quiz, world heat maps of sensation seeing, press releases and more.

Examples and Illustrations

Novel Drug Abuse Prevention Ads Get Strong Response from High-Sensation Seekers According to the website of the National Institute on Drug Abuse: A strong, biologically based need for stimulation appears to make sensation-seeking young adults more vulnerable to drug abuse. Now a NIDA-funded study has shown that highly novel drug abuse prevention messages can capture the attention of high-sensation-seeking young adults and get them to consider participating in alternatives to drug abuse. Read about the study and the ad here.

Lecture Notes

Slide Presentations

Tests, Measures, and Scales

Sensation Seeking Scale Do you seek thrills or play safe? Find out with the sensation-seeking questionnaire by Marvin Zuckerman, University of Delaware.

Thrill Seeker or Chill Seeker? Ken Carter designed this online version of the Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale. You can take the 40-item test and the site will tell you how you score overall and on the individual subscales of Boredom Susceptibility, Disinhibition, Experience Seeking, and Thrill & Adventure Seeking. Bonus: respondentsí results are combined to draw a map of sensation seeking scores around the world and within the United States.

Audio and Video

Can You Spot the High Sensation Seeker? Check out this amateur video of the ride down the Giant Drop at Australia's Dreamworld amusement park park, reputed to be the world's largest free fall ride in the world. Stay tuned to the very end, and see one guy -- the one holding the camera -- obviously thrilled, while the guy next to him is showing abject terror!

Dr. Ken Carter This web page of Clinical psychologist, speaker, and science writer Ken Carter contains many background resources on sensation seeking including audio and videos describing what sensation is and isnít, links to a sensation seeking quiz, world heat maps of sensation seeing, press releases and more.

Extreme Sports Psychology teacher Michael Britt created an episode for his podcast called The Psych Files which discusses the connection between monoamine oxidase and sensation seeking in an episode entitled, "The Psychology of Extreme Sports." The episode makes use of much of the information found here on Personality Pedagogy and it includes a brief animation showing how neurotransmitters and Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors work.

Overview The Big Think blog features this interview with Marvin Zuckerman on sensation seeking (runs 23 minutes, 47 seconds). The whole interview is also broken out into 6 smaller excerpts on specific topics running 3-5 minutes each. These include the genetic basis of risk-seeking, why men drive fast and take chances, risk-seeking and creativity, the psychology of horror films, the anatomy of torture and more.

Sensation seeking activity? The Giant Drop at Dreamland, an Australian amusement park, is the tallest free-falling ride in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Is this an activity you would enjoy?